Just Say “Yes”

Throughout my life I have faced many opportunities to say yes to. Many I did say yes to and there are plenty when I did not. The biggest one that comes to mind for me is the opportunity to move to Seattle almost 10 years ago. I was barely 19 and had lived my entire life in East Tennessee. I resented the area I grew up in and resigned myself to being stuck there for most of my life. My best friend at the time presented me with the option of moving across the country away from my family, friends, and everything familiar to go to a place I knew next to nothing about. At first, I declined the offer, I was having a challenging time imagining myself existing anywhere else. My friend was not leaving until the end of that summer so I told them I would think it over, but for the time being the answer was no. It is strange to think that my reality could have been so vastly different than what it currently is. If I had been able to find a job that summer, or an apartment to rent for the following year then I would have stuck to that “no” and probably have lived out my days not doing anything I really wanted to. Luckily, I had a surprising heart to heart with my wonderful Appalachian Mamaw who had never lived outside of the city she was born in. She told me that I had better get my ass on that plane to Seattle and go live the life I deserved. That I could make a life there and then travel to all the places she was never able to go. Namely, Alaska, which I have not made it to just yet, but it will happen one day. After that sincere conversation I changed my mind and took a leap of faith. After touching down in Seattle, nothing at all went even remotely as I had envisioned. My friend and I had a falling out and I was left on my own in a completely new city where I did not know a single person. I am so grateful that it happened that way though because through those struggles, I have built a life for myself that I am incredibly proud of and have finally reached a point where I can start investing in my own future, which is exactly why I decided to enter the Visual Media program at Seattle Central.